even jack welch, the former ceo of ge went on twitter to accuse the president of changing the numbers. >> i tell you, these numbers don't smell right when you think about where the economy is right now. >> reporter: the labor department called the allegations ludicrous. we went directly to the place where it's all done. this vast government building, a couple of miles from the white house, houses the labor department's bureau of labor stay twist icks. the bls has been tabulating the rate for more than 70 years. all based on a survey conducted in person and over the phone of 60,000 households every month. and here is where the numbers get crunched. amid a sea of cubicles, inside of each one, an economist sworn to secrecy and working on a specific aspect of that employment survey. tom is in charge here. he's worked at bls since before ronald reagan was president. he introduced us to the economist who actually wrote this morning's unemployment rate announcement. how much of a secret is that number before you put it out? you can't call me up and tell me -- >> i can't tell anyone. it's a c